Condiment-holder.



w. A. STEWART.

CONDIMENT HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26. 1917.

1,269,127. Patented June 11, 1918.

CONDIMENT-I-IOLDER.

Application filed September 26, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. STEWART, a subject of the King of England, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Condiment-Holders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to condiment holders and has for its primary object to provide simple and effective means for loosening or breaking up salt or like condiments in a container, when the comminuted particles become caked or packed from the effects of moisture or dampness.

It is also an important object of the invention to provide a device of the above character which is so constructed that the salt may be scraped or removed from the under side of the perforated top or cap of the holder so as to open or clear the perforations therein.

It is another and more particular object of the invention to provide a condiment holder constructed in a plurality of sections including a rotatable cap or perforated top section, a relatively stationary scraper .of improved form secured to the section of the holder next adjacent the rotary cap, and an agitator extending through the body of the holder and rotatably mounted on the base wall thereof, the upper end of the agitator being detachably connected to the rotary cap for rotation thereby.

It is also a further general object of the invention to provide a device for the above purpose, which is simple in its construction, highly eflicient in practical use, and convenient and serviceable for the purpose in view.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the ac companying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a detail perspective view illustrating a modified form of the rotatable agitator; and

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 11, 1918 Serial No. 193,308.

Figs. 5 and 6 are similar viewsillustrating still further modifications.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 5 designates the main body section of the condiment holder which preferably, though not necessarily, tapers to its upper end where the holder section is provided with exterior screw threads indicated at 6, and an annular bead 7 at the base of this threaded section. A relatively short body section 8 has interior threads on one end for engagement with the threads 6 and is also formed on said end with an outwardly projecting, annular head 9. The section 8 of the holder has an out wardly projecting flange 10 formed upon its upper end and an annular bead 11 formed thereon below and adjacent to said flange. The rotatable cap 12 is'provided upon its open end with an outwardly projecting, annular open bead 13 to receive the flangelO on the holder section 8, whereby said cap is rotatably supported.

A rod 14 extends axially through the holder sections and the cap 12, and the lower end thereof is rotatably engaged in a suitable bearing seat 15 on the base Wall of the body section 5. The upper end of this rod is square and seated in a socket 14L centrally formed in the under side of the wall of the cap 12. This rod is provided with alternately arranged, horizontal arms 16 projecting from relatively opposite sides thereof in the body section 5 of the holder. It will thus be understood that, by the rotation of the cap 12, the rod 14; will also be rotated and the contents of the holder within the body 5 agitated and broken up by means of the arms 16.

A resilient wire 17 has its extremities fixed in any preferred manner to the section 8 of the holder in spaced relation to the upper end thereof, as indicated at 18. Adjacent to each of the fixed ends of this wire, the same is spirally coiled, as at 19, though if desired, such coils may be omitted. The wire extends upwardly from the coils 19 and has its intermediate portion curved or bowed and centrally flattened, as at 20. The spiral coils 19 act to resiliently force the intermediate portion 20 of the wire into frictional bearing contact against the under side of the cap wall 12 which is perforated in the usual manner, as shown at 21. It will thus be seen that, in the rotation of the cap 12 to break up the condiment in the body of the holder, the wire 17 will have a scraping action against the under side of the rotatable cap, thereby removing the salt which may have become caked thereon over the perforations 21. Upon the invertion of the holder and the agitation of its contents, the latter will flow freely through the open perforations. It will, of course, be under stood that the portion 20 of the wire 17 is centrally formed with an opening through which the socket 1 1- extends.

In Figs. 4t, 5 and 6, I have illustrated several modified forms of the agitator which may be employed in connection with my invention. In Fig. 4-, this agitator consists of the rods or fiat bars 22 which are arranged upon opposite sides of the central rod 14' and have their lower ends connected to said central rod by a horizontal bar 23. These rods 22 converge to their upper ends, where they are suitably fixed to the rod 14-. In Fig. 5, I have illustrated another form of the agitator consisting of a tapering, metal plate 24: suitably secured to the central rod of the agitator. This plate is provided with a plurality of spaced openings 25 therein through which the condiment may freely pass in the rotation of said plate; In Fig. 6, the spaced rods 22 are connected to the central agitator rod by a plurality of short, horizontal. rods 26 alternately arranged upon opposite sides of the central rod of the agitator. It will also be manifest that many other forms of this agitating means might be utilized. I have herein described a particular sectional construction of the holder, but it is obvious that if desired, the inter mediate section 8 might be eliminated and the rotatable cap mounted upon the upper end of the single body section 5.

I have above referred to a holder consisting of a main body section, a rotatable top or cap section, and an intermediate, relatively fixed section. It is to be understood, however, that in practice, the sections may be multiplied as desired. For instance, an additional section may be inter-posed between the fixed section 8 and the cap section for independent rotation, and to this interposed section, the agitator may be connected.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the construction, manner of operation and several advantages of the device will. be clearly and fully understood. It will be seen that I have produced a very simply constructed and inexpensive holder for condiments provided with means for positively breaking up the material when it becomes caked or packed owing to moisture entering the holder. The device may be easily operated to entirely free the perforations in that there will be a free and unrestricted flow of the latter. The several sections of the holder may be made of metal or any other desired material, and while I have herein pointed out the form, construction and arrangement of the several elements employed, it is manifest that these detail features may be variously modified, and I, therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

IIaving thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is l 1. A; condiment holder including a fixed section. and a perforated, rotatable section, and a relatively fixed scraping element extending within the rotatable section and formed with a spring coil to yieldingly urge said element into effective scraping engage ment with the wall of the rotatable holder section.

2. A condiment holder including a fixed section, a perforated cap section rotatably mounted upon said fixed section of the holder, and a relatively fixed bowed scraping element extending within said cap section and provided with a spring coil yieldingly urgingthe medial portion of said. element into scraping engagement with the perforated wall of said cap section.

3. A condiment holder including a fixed section, a perforated cap section rotatably mounted upon the fixed section of the holder, and a length of resilient wire fixed at its extremities to said fixed section, said wire adjacent each of its ends having a spring coil therein, the intermediate portion of the wire being curved and having frictional scraping engagement with the under side of the cap wall.

l. A condiment holder including a body section, an intermediate section detacliably connected to the body section, a perforated cap section rotatably mounted upon the in termediate section, and a length of resilient wire fixed at its extremities to the wall of the intermediate section and having a curved, intermediate portion extending within the cap section, said wire, adjacent each of its ends, having a spiral coil formed therein whereby the intermediate portion of the wire is yieldingly urged into frictional scraping engagement with the wall of the cap section.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. STEl/VART.

Witnesses:

Gno. L. STEWART, MARY E. ROBERTS.

Copies or this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

